Some Nights
by FNPCapt KC
Summary: He made the decesion to join them. Now he and the team will suffer, leaving the main characters shaken and traumatized, as their lives will never be the same again. Sequel to A Chance. There will be less Skilene than the first in the series. This sequel is more focused on a possibly fatal, revenge-filled war.
1. Chapter 1

**Yes, everyone. After a month or two's wait, the sequel is here. I am determined to make this one better than the last, so stay tuned! And I have made a decesion to make a 3rd traitor. All barrels will be revealed in this chapter, so enjoy!**

He watched them through his binoculars, the wind ruffling through his feathers. He didn't want to belive it. The same leader that told him that love was for the weak. The same leader that slapped multiple times for falling for a lady. The same leader that yelled at him to get over it and to move on. He was the same leader who was sitting on top of the famous zoo clock, resting his head against his sleeping girlfriend. Kowalski didn't like it. It wasn't fair. Skipper got to be in love , but he couldn't? Plus, Kowalski over heard Skipper telling Private that he was planning on proposing to Marlene. The penguin scientist always thought, deep down, that his commanding officer was a hypocrite. Now, that little thought was his creed. He had to do something about it, but what?

The sun had gone down now and he was still perched in a tree in Central Park. He had told Private and Rico he needed to get something for his lab. He didn't care if he didn't return back with it. He didn't care of the questions he would get when he returned. He just wanted revenge.

After Skipper fell asleep, he decided to start heading back. _Stupid Skipper!_ he thought. _Always wins one way or another while we have to suffer deeply._

His thoughts were interupted when he bumped into into someone. He looked up, shocked to see the familar face. And more shocked to see what was in his paws: another pair of binoculars.

"Hey! No one is to be bumping into de king!"

"J-Julien? What are you doing here?" Kowalski stuttered.

"That is to be none of your buisness!" Julien protested.

"You were watching them, weren't you?"

"How did you know?"

"Well, you're holding a pair of binoculars, for one,"

"You are too! So does that mean you were watching de bossy penguin and pretty otter lady?"

"Maybe..."

"You're jealous, aren't you?"

"Okay, okay. I am. I don't like Marlene in that way, but Skipper always got mad at me for falling in love, but now..."

"Then, join me!"

"You? In what? Stalking them?"

"No! Seperating them. I know a guy who also doesn't like them together. He knew I had a crush on Marlene and talked to me about his little plan. It is going to be perfectnesses!"

"What's this guy's name?"

"That won't be necessary," answered a voice comming from the bushes. The owner of the voice climbed out, revealing a male otter.

"K-Kody? But I thought-"

"That I was gone forever at Hoboken?"

"Uh, kinda?"

"Well, I didn't want Marlene to die, which is why I needed you guys to stop me, but I had an immediate hatred of that Skipper the second my eyes laid on him. I just can't stand him! And you don't want him in love, Julien wants Marlene's paw in marriage, and I, I just want Skipper out of the picture. So what do you say smart guy? Want to join?"

Kowalski was about to say yes, but thought over for a second. He didn't like Skipper being a hypocrite and he definately didn't want to be married, and he did want revenge, but Skipper still was like a brother to him. He saved his life on mulitiple occassions. He couldn't just murder his leader, but he couldn't let Skipper get away with being a dirty liar and jerk.

"Okay, fine," Kowalski said. "J-just promise me Skipper won't get hurt or killed,"

"Don't worry, man. I can honestly say he'll be fine!"

**Aaaaand, scene. The next chapter might be a little boring, but chapter 3 is well, can't say that much without spoiling it... As the description says, there won't be as much Skilene, more focused on the 3 traitors, Skipper, and Private... Poor, poor little Private... :,( WHY KOWALSKI?! WHY DID YOU JOIN THE BARRELS?! NOW PRIVATE WILL- yeah again, not going to spoil it :)**


	2. A Promise

**I FINISHED IT! I FINALLY FINISHED IT! Okay, I am so sorry for the wait! But here it is. I worte all of it in about an hour, so if there's any spelling errors, I appoligize. This chapter turned out better than I thought. And I owe it all to an Aviators song called "Friendship". I belive it is now going to be the new inspiratation for this story, as it relates all to well to the main plot. Here's the youtube link:**

** watch?v=9U0UUDy_5ik**

Kowalski's watch started beeping. He glared at it. _Why now?_ he thought. This was the worst possible time for it to go off. He was at the table, eating dinner with Rico, Private, and of course, Skipper. All three penguins' eyes immediately flew to the scientist. In response, Kowalski desperately tried to turn the darn thing off, but that just earned him more attention.

"Kowalski, where did you get that watch?" Skipper questioned.

"Uh.. The zoo gift shop," he lied.

"And _why_ is it beeping?"

"It has an alarm, which I have yet to control,"

"Is it broken?"

"I think so. May be I should go destroy it?"

"Okay. Rico?" Rico coughed up a bomb, lifting it to throw it at the watch.

"NO!" Kowalski shouted. "I mean, I'll just go throw it away outside,"

"Uh, okay?" Skipper agreed. But his tone indicated that he was suspicous of the watch.

*10 minutes later*

Kowalski climbed the 3rd tree from the zoo's entrance, the secret meeting place. At the top, was Kody and Julien perched on a branch. The penguin joined them, taking off his watch and handing it to Kody.

"So? What's the plan?" Kowalski asked.

"It's simple, yet flawless," Kody answered. "At Skipper's and Marlene's wedding, right before they say 'I do', Julien, who will be a guest. If Skipper disagrees to him coming, Kowalski, you put him on the invitation list when Skipper isn't around. Anyways, Mort, no dobt, will obsess over Julien's feet. Julien, you will kick him, aiming him for the big red button behind the wedding place. The place will immediately fill with knock-out gas. I will then enter, wearing a gas-proof mask. I will take Skipper and put him in a sound-proof crate and ship him to Mystic Aquarium in Conneticut. The security there is exteremly good. It will be impossible for him to escape. Kowalski, you cover Skipper's disapearence. Put makeup on so it looks like you have a black eye, then tell everyone this: The gas had no effect on you, so you saw Hans kidnap Skipper. You tried to stop him, but he knocked you out with a frying pan before you could lay a flipper on the puffin,"

"That doesn't sound simple" Julien said.

"But what if Skipper doesn't propose to Marlene?" Kowalski asked.

"Of course he will. You saw them together," Kody replied.

"Oh yeah. But what if-"

"Kowalski?" interrupted a voice all to familiar. Kowalski looked at the bottom of the tree, sure enough Private was standing at the bottom of it, his blue eyes showing confusion.

"Private? What are you doing here?" Kowalski asked.

"What are you doing in a tree with Julien and... Kody? What is Kody doing here?"

"Well, uh..um.. You see, I was going to throw the broken watch when Julien came up and told me that he knew a guy who would glady buy the watch from me. Turns out that guy was Kody,"

"That's not- OW!" Julien screamed. Kowalski had kicked him, trying to get him to shut up. Kody, however, immediately played along.

"Wait, you said this watch is broken?! NO DEAL!" He threw the watch at Kowalski's face. The penguin fell off the branch, hitting the ground with a thud.

"Oww... Thanks alot, Private" he mumbled.

"Oh, sorry!" Private appoligized. He helped his team mate up. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"Well, right after you left, Skipper left and proposed to Marlene. She said yes, and I was so excited that I had to tell you so I went looking for you and I heard your voice comming from that tree,"

"So it's offical? They're getting married?" Kowalski asked, making a point of showing fake happiness.

"Yup!"

"Oh, that's wonderful! When's the wedding?"

"Two weeks from now!"

"Can't wait!" Kowalski fake smiled, trying his best to sell it.

"Kowalski, you go back to the others. I'll go get us some celebration snow cones," Private suggested.

"Okay!"

As soon Kowalski was out of earshot, Private waddled over to a park bench and broke down in tears. He had heard Kody's entire plan. He just didn't want Kowalski to know that. He would kill him. Not that he was afraid of dying. But he had a plan as well. He was going to get Skipper back. He just couldn't belive the same penguin who had raised him with Skipper and Rico was the same penguin who was going to get rid of their leader. He was always a brother to the young penguin. As well as Skipper. He couldn't belive he was going to lose both of them. Though Kowalski was still going to be at the zoo, he wasn't Kowalski. He was now a traitor. He wanted the one penguin who gave him a chance to suffer. Private wanted to hate him, but for some reason he didn't. He knew that there must be some good Kowalski left, deep down in the traitor's heart. He just had to find it.

"Don't worry, Kowalski" Private softly whispered, sitting up. "I-I promise I'll fix this. Even if it kills me, I'll make everything back to the way it was. Skipper will be home, you won't be evil, and-and everything will be okay. I promise!"

**Aww... Private. I hope to have the next chapter up by next week. If you REALLY want to know what MIGHT happen, read what Private says at the end. No, he's not going to fix everything. Something else. Also, read last chapter's author's note and combine that info with Private's. If you figure it out, you get a virtual cookie.**


	3. Okay

**Wow. I'm suprised I got this chapter done so fast. Oh well. Here it is. As ahead's up it might get a little sad. **

What Private didn't know was that Kody knew he knew. He even heard the penguin's promise, thanks to his keen hearing. He knew that Private was going to ruin everything. So, he came up with a new plan. He didn't tell Kowalski or Julien, as they would back out immediately. They would get mad at him. But he would never hear them screaming at him, as he would flee to Canada immediately and change his name. Why? He was going to murder Capt. Skipper, leader of the world's greatest commando penguin team. The Penguin Authorities will be after him immediately.

*2 weeks later*

Skipper hummed the tune of Bruno Mars's "Marry You" as he got ready. Not that he needed to. He was a penguin afterall. But he still wanted his feathers shiny and his beak polished. The others were getting ready as well, except Kowalski. He just sat in his lab, alone, and begining to regret his decesion. Something in his gut was telling him this was wrong and something terrible was going to come out of this, besides Skipper being gone. And Skipper, well, it wasn't his fault he was in love. He couldn't help if God wanted them to be together. Nor was it Kowalski's fault he loved Doris, but Doris... didn't love him back. Maybe that's why Skipper slapped him all the time. He didn't want Kowalski getting distracted for no reason. Kowalski sighed, knowing he had made one of the worst decisions of his life. But it was too late. He could try to stop Kody, but he knew that the otter could kill them all. Or seperate the 4 to completely different parts of the world, where they'll never see each other again. But he had to do something. Maybe, he could get Skipper and bring him back to New York. But Mystic Aquarium does have high security. He would never get him out of there. Alone at least. The others may never forgive him, but he knew he deserved it. He just had to make things right.

*1 hour later*

Kowalski stood next next to Skipper on the small stage, nervous as heck. It was an outdoor, night wedding, held at Marlene's habitat in the large grassy area next to her waterslide. Rico had done a pretty good job with decorating, making the place look alot like a chapel. Private was the best man and Kowalski was going to marry them. Kowalski winced as he heard the organ music play and saw Marlene walk down the isle. She looked stunning. She didn't wear a dress, but her fur sparkled in the moonlight and the rose she had in her hair brought out her hazel eyes. Skipper smiled brightly as his gaze met hers and immediately took his focus of everyting except Marlene. She returned the smile, taking his flippers as Kowalski began the ceremony.

"We gather here today, to celebrate the marriage between Capt. Skipper and Miss Marlene. Do you promise to love each other in sickness and in health? For rich or for- um.." Kowalski lost his focus as he saw Mort squeeze Julien's feet and Julien lift his leg, aiming it towards the edge of the stage, where the button was hidden.

"_Kowalski!_" Skipper mumbled under his breath, giving his lientenant a nudge.

"Oh, right! Sorry. For rich or for poor, For better or-" He winced as he heard Mort's body press against the button. "For, umm..." But he noticed something. Gas didn't fill the area. So he continued. "For better of for worse?"

But then, 4 silver knives shot out of a bush by the wall, flying towards Skipper. Kowalski, stood there, frozen out of shock, his only thought being "This wasn't the plan,". He didn't hear the thud. He didn't see Skipper lying by his feet, perfectly fine. He didn't Marlene gasp. He just stood there, shock and betrayl paralyzing him. But half a second later, he snapped back into reality, as Private's screams pierced his ears.

Private saw the knives flying towards his leader. He couldn't let Skipper die. Not now. And especially not on his wedding day. He let the instincts that Skipper had given him take over. He pushed his leader out of the way, standing where he was, knowing there wasn't enough time for him. He smiled for a split second, knowing it would be fine now. The knives hit him hard, the first one hit his collar bone, splitting it in half. Another went through his foot. The third hit his left flipper. And lastly, the forth hit his stomach. He screamed in pain. He didn't know why. Everything would be okay now. He heard his friends scream his name, as well as a pair of flippers lifting him up. Another pair grabbed him as well, helping the first pair. Another pair joined in. He looked up, barely reconizing Skipper's, Kowalski's, and Rico's faces through the black spots clogging his vision. He used all of his remaining strength to mumble one word as he slipped out of conciousness:

"O-okay..."

**I don't know what to say. But don't give up hope completely. He's not officaly dead. So far. Next chapter will hopefully be up this weekend. Maybe earlier. The next chapter will be a little easy to write. **


	4. Trauma

**Well, here it is! It might be a smidge rushed, but in this chapter they try to save Private's life, so I thought the story should move on a little quicker. Warning: This might get a little gory as it involves blood, blood, and more blood.**

Chapter 4: Trauma

Skipper looked to see his young friend, on the ground, drenched in blood. "PRIIVAAATE!" he screamed. He got up, picking the little bird up, cradling his limp body. Kowalski helped him, along with Rico. They could see that he was quickly slipping out of conciousness.

"Private! Stay with me! You have to stay awake! Y-you have to!" Skipper said, smoothing his feathers.

"I-I'm so sorry Private! I didn't know that-" Kowalski was interrupted by Private giving a small cough, blood dripping out of his beak as he whispered one word. "O..Okay," his voice cracked and he was out cold.

"We need to get him to the animal hospital," Kowalski said. Skipper nodded.

The three birds ran to the building, only to find it locked. "RICO!" Skipper ordered. Rico coughed up a bomb, blowing up the door. The three ran inside, placing Private on a soft bed. Everyone working at the zoo had left for the night, so it was up to three to fix their friend, or at least keep him stable until morning.

"What do we do?" Skipper asked.

"Skipper, try to remove the knives. Rico, stitch him up, except for his stomach. I need to make sure he didn't damage any organs. So, just try to stop the bleeding. I'll go find an IV line, a heart monitor, an oxygen mask, and I need to see if the zoo has a CT Scan here so I can see if there's any organ damage,"

They did as they were told, and within an hour, the boy was half-stable. Kowalski then ran a CT scan, which he found in the back of the buiding, and moments later, came back with bad news.

"So? Is he going to be okay?" Skipper asked.

"His liver was hit by the knife, but it isn't as severe as most cases. He has a few hours left, which gives me enough time to repair his liver,"

"Repair? As in surgery?"

"Yes. I'm not expierenced, but I read enough medical books to know how to do it correctly,"

"You sure? Private's life is on the line here, Kowalski. We can't just risk anything and hope he'll live,"

"It's the only chance we have, Skipper"

"O-okay... Just be careful,"

"I will,"

The next 2 hours, Skipper and Rico sat in some chairs in the doctor's office, fear and stress eating them alive as they waited. An hour after Private went into surgey, Marlene came over to see how Private was. Skipper didn't say much, but she understood why. Skipper was the closest to Private. He could even pass as his father, if they weren't 15 penguin years apart.

Marlene was just shocked how quickly this day had fallen apart. This day was going to be perfect, the kind of day Marlene had dreamed of since she was small. But instead, Private was most likely going to die, all because someone had tried to kill her fiance. She didn't understand how sick and cold-hearted some people were, but maybe that's why Skipper and his team were around. To hunt down the threats that the humans couldn't handle.

Moments later, Kowalski returned, looking tired, yet satisfied.

"I-is he okay?" Skipper asked, terrified of bad news.

"For now, yes. I fixed his liver, but I'm not sure it was in time. There's currently a 20 percent chance he'll live. But in a few hours when the zoo opens up and the doctor gets here, his chances will increase. For now, I think it's best we closely monitor him,"

The four animals went into Private's room, looking at the miserable sight their friend now was. He was covered in bandages, his beak and the part of him not covered in bandages, was stained with dried blood. He looked so peaceful that he almost looked dead. But the small and weak beeps on the heart monitor indicated that he was alive.

After ten minutes of looking at Private's helpless body, Kowalski broke down in tears, forgetting the others were present as well.

"I...I'm so sorry, Private! This is all my fault! I didn't mean to hurt you, Skipper, or anyone! I knew he couldn't be trusted..."

The others stared at him.

"Kowalski? What do you mean?" Marlene asked. "You just saved his life. Well, at least for a few more hours,"

"I...uh... I'll explain later. Why don't you guys go and get some rest? I'll watch Private,"

"Okay," Rico and Marlene agreed, leaving. However, Skipper wanted to stay.

"No. I'll stay here. This is my fault, too... Though I don't know why it's your fault, but it IS mine,"

"Your fault? How is it your fault?"

"I was too distracted by the wedding to notice the knives. I-I should've seen them... But I just love Marlene, Kowalski! What AM I going to do? I can't deal with love when enemies are trying to kill us left and right. But... I love her and I love being in love... I'm sorry for all the times I slapped you men for going head over heels for a pretty lady. It's just it's been a LONG time since I had feelings for a woman. Almost every girl I loved ended up stabbing me in the back and... I just didn't want that to happen to you guys. But then, I met Marlene. She changed my prespective of dating completely. Well, not completely. Some girls can be trusted, others not so much,"

Skipper's words hit Kowalski hard. Skipper wasn't a hypocrite... He was just trying to protect them. Kowalski realized he had done all of this for nothing. And now, he caused Private's possible death and pretty much ruined his friendship with his leader and best friend. He wanted to be mad at Kody, but he found himself mad at himself, instead. He kept saying it was his fault. Because, maybe it was? He had agreed to help Kody, but he didn't know the otter would decieve his trust and attempt to murder one of the few people he was close to in this world. He didn't know that Private would push Skipper out of the way and save his life, but not his own. Kowalski broke down in tears again, clutching Private's cold, right flipper and eventually crying himself to sleep.

*3 hours later*

"Kowalski!" Skipper shouted. "Wake up!" The scientist slowly opened his eyes, hoping last night was just a terrible dream. and that everything was fine. Private would go prancing around the HQ, ranting The Lunacorns and how everything's more true when it rhymes. Then, Rico would slap him and steal his toy Lunacorn and run away, entertaining Kowalski and Skipper. But he looked around, in the animal hospital instead of their HQ, seeing that the nightmare was a reality.

"I-is Private okay?" Kowalski asked, sitting up.

"Well, he's alive. So, I guess? His heart beats are slowing down a little, but thankfully, the doctor should be here any minute. So, let's get out of here,"

"Right," But for some reason, none of them left their spot by Private. They had to make sure he was going to be okay. They couldn't leave him. Not in the hands of a human doctor. A penguin doctor would do a better job, but they didn't have enough time to get one. And they weren't doctors. So the humans were their only hope. But then, the two penguins heard a door unlock.

"Hide!" Skipper ordered. They spotted a cabinet large enough for time to hide in. They hide there, listening in to what was going on.

"OH MY GOSH!" They heard the doctor scream, knowing he must've seen Private. "H-how did he get here? And what happened? Who bandaged him up? I guess it doesn't matter now. He might have more damage than I think or who ever helped him thought , so let's get to work,"

The next hours were the longest and most stressful for the two penguins. They sat there, in the darkness, doing absolutely nothing. They couldn't talk, for the doctor would hear the penguins' squaks and find them. So they just thought. And thought. The subject of Kody kept hitting Kowalski's mind. Where was he? He probably ran off, fleeing as he could've murdered Private. And he definately wouldn't want to face Skipper's wrath. Or Rico's. But if he tried to kill Skipper once, would he do it again?

"There," The doctor said, interupting Kowalski'd thougthts. Skipper and Kowalski exchanged nervous glances, praying that the young boy would be okay.

"Is he going to be okay?" Alice asked.

"I'm not sure. His flipper and collar bone are broken, as well as tendons and muscle tore in his foot. His liver is bruised, and for some reason as a scar on it. It looks like knives or something sharp caused these injuries. How he got to them, I don't know. I was able to repair his injuries, but he's expieriencing

hypovolemic shock due to his blood loss and he's currently in a coma. I'm also not sure I helped him in time. He currently has a 44 percent chance of surviving this, but the other 66 percent... Well, he may never wake up again,"

_Private slowly awoke, lying in a soft flower bed, filled with the most beautiful and colorful lillies and daisies he'd ever seen. He sat up looked around, seeing that he was in a beautiful valley and on a perfect day. Butterflies of every color filled the sparkling, blue sky. And best of all, lunacorns roamed the grass._

_"Where am I?" he wondered aloud._

_"Heaven," A voice boomed._

_"A-am I dead?"_

_"No, young Private. You're in a coma. But becuase of your heroism and bravery, I'll let you stay here until further notice,"_

_"But will I live? Or ever wake up again?"_

_The voice didn't answer. Instead, a lunacorn called out, "Come on, Private! Let's go to Raincloud city!"_

_"Okay!"_

**I didn't feel like the last part was completely necessary, but I feel that this is getting a little depressing, so I put it in. But to be honest, we will not know if Private lives or not till it's close to the end (at least 5 chapters). THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! :D You are awesome! **


	5. The Truth

**Hope you enjoy! **

Chapter 5: The Truth

After the doctor left, Skipper and Kowalski climbed out of the cabnet and went to see their friend. He looked alot better. The doctor had washed most of the blood out of his feathers. He was bandaged more, though. But other than that, he looked about the same as he did when the doctor came. Skipper sat down on the bed, ruffing the feathers on Private's head.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" he asked.

"It's too early to tell, but his chances are a heck alot better now, though it's not even 50%, it's better,"

"44 percent... I like those odds,"

"What do you mean?"

"4, it's my favorite number. When ever I guess something with the number 4 in it or divisible by 4, I almost always correct. Or good stuff comes out of it. Like their's four of us. There's 4 stripes on a Navy and Coast Guard capitain's insigna. And Georgia, the state that invented Coca-Cola was the forth state to sign and approve the US Constitution,"

"Oh, I see"

Then, something caught Kowalski's eye out the window. It was a split-second, but that was enough for him to know what it was: a tail. An otter tail. He would've mistaken it for Marlene, if it wasn't a much darker brown. _Oh, no_ Kowalski thought. _Not now. I can't let this happen. Not to Skipper. _

"Uh, Skipper, can we talk?" Kowalski asked, fearing the next few moments.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Can we go somewhere more private?"

"Uh, okay?"

Kowalski led Skipper outside to the shipping warehouse. His eye twitched as he saw the crate Kody was going to ship Skipper in before the wedding. He also remember that today was the day/time the truck from Mystic Aquarium would stop by for the little "transfer" Maybe Kody was going to followthe original plan all along? But why did he break his promise? Why was he at it again, trying to destroy Skipper's life?

"So, is everything okay?" Skipper asked.

"There's something you shoud know..." Kowalski said, trying to swallow any fear stopping him from doing this.

"What?"

"I-I know who tried to kill you,"

"Who? Tell me, Kowalski! I need to know his name, so I can rip his guts out for what he did to Private!"

"Kody..."

"KODY?! But I thought he wasn't evil anymore!"

"I did, too. I-I'm so sorry, Skipper. It's all my fault for trusting that stupid otter,"

"What do you mean?"

"You see... I, uh...I..."

"Just tell me!"

"I WAS MAD, OKAY?! I was mad that you and Marlene got to be in love, when you slapped me and screamed at me everytime I even mentioned Doris. But then, I didn't know you were just trying to protect me. I was just so mad... Then, I saw Julien. He told me he knew a guy who would seperate you two for good. He led me to that guy. This guy came up with a plan, not to kill you, but send you to Mystic Aquarium in Conneticut, which has extremely high security. No penguin would be abe to get out of there. I agreed to help him with that plan. But the second I did, I started having second thoughts. I mean, you're my best friend Skipper! So, I came up with a plan to get you back once you were shipped. But I thought he would keep his word... I-I thought I could trust him. This guy was Kody. He never told us that he was going to kill you. I'm so sorry, I-"

"Y-you hurt Private..." Skipper said.

"I didn't mean to hu-"

"OH, SAVE IT, SOLIDER! YOU ALMOST KILLED YOUR FELLOW TEAM MATE ALL BECAUSE YOU COULDN"T STAND THE SIGHT OF ME AND MY MARLENE TOGETHER! WAS IT REALLY WORTH IT?!" Skipper screamed. He started waddling closer to Kowalski in a fighting stance. Kowalski, in return, backed up, inching closer and closer towards the empty crate.

"I'm sorry. And I know... It is my fault a-and if you want to beat me up, beat me up. I deserve to die horribly for this, but can it wait?"

"Wait? Why?"

Kowalski grapped Skipper, and tossed him into the crate. Quickly, he sealed the lid and put the box on the truck heading to Conneticut.

AN: **Sorry about the cliffhanger. But yeah. Kowalski decided to follow the original plan. :( Thank you, reviewers, for reviewing! **


	6. Why

Kowalski sighed sadly as the truck sped away from the zoo. He could almost hear Skipper mumbling his angry words. Kowalski wished that he didn't have to do it, but he had to. Skipper would've been killed by Kody if he was still here. He just had to get Kody out of the way for good and then he'll think of some way to get back Skipper. Only problem was that there was only 2 of them left. Him and Rico. He was good at analyzing and coming up with options, and Rico was good at destroying anything in his path, but they've tried countless times to be a good team without Skipper's leadership. And everytime, they failed and Skipper had to come rescue them. And during those times, they had young Private. It was almost hopeless now. Almost.

"Well. Suprised to see you still mad at that penguin after what I had done," a voice behind Kowalski said.

"_You!"_ Kowalski hissed, turning around to see the smirking otter. "YOU did this! You could've killed Private! WHY did you break our promise?! WHY?!"

"The little bird knew too much. I saw him crying and whining about you joining the dark side. He heard our plan. So, I came up with a new one to get Skipper out of our way for good. I didn't know the little bird would push him out of the way, but oh well. Never liked him much, anyways,"

"You heartless little-"

"Hey, don't call me heartless! I have a heart. And it belongs to Marlene,"

"You like Marlene?! I thought that-"

"You also thought that I was good and had nothing against Skipper,"

"So, Blowhole never brainwashed you? And wait a sec, I thought the plan was that JULIEN gets Marlene, not you,"

"Actually, Blowhole did. But while I was brainwashed, I fell in love with the pretty otter. And I want her. And nothing's going to stop me from her being mine, including Julien. I was planning on getting rid of him as well,"

"She'll never love a murder like you! I know Marlene and she would rather die!"

"She doesn't have to know, Kowalski. Just don't tell her or anyone. Remember the back story we had?"

"WHY should I even let you marry her? Private's in a coma he probably will never wake up from thanks to you!"

"Oh poor, naive Kowalski. You don't have a choice," Kody held a gun to Kowalski's head.

Skipper hated the crate. It was small and stuffy. The only good thing about it was that it was dark. Skipper often liked being in the dark. There, he could think more clearly. He couldn't belive what his lieutenant had done. _Now he may go after Rico and there's nothing I can do about it _Skipper thought. But why hadn't Kowalski killed him? Instead, he sent him to where ever he was going. _There must be some important reason why he didn't kill me. Maybe he knew that Kody was trying to kill me. I mean, it DOES make sense. Still, I can't be too careful. He might just be trying to get rid of me after all. _Suddenly, Skipper's thougts broke when the truck jolted to a stop, causing the penguin to slam against the wooden wall of the crate.

"Ow..." he mumbled, rubbing his head. He felt the box being picked up and heard some unfamiliar voices talking to each other.

"New penguin?"

"Yeah. From Central Park Zoo,"

"How come I was never told about this?"

"I don't know, ma'am. I just follow the orders given to me,"

The person handling the crate handed the crate to the other, who immediately began walking to what Skipper was going to assume was his new home. Immediately, he got into a fighting stance. The box was placed onto a hard surface. The zoo keeper opened the crate, and light broke into the small box. Skipper slowly waddled out, keeping his flippers raised.

It was nice habitat. It reminded him of the Central Park Zoo's habitat. Only there were seven penguins, the short gate surrounding it was made out of glass instead of iron, the penguins wore arm bands, and there were more rocks. Five of the penguins gave Skipper strange looks before going back to their buissness, not caring about him what so ever. The other two looked at him closely, then got into a fighting stance as well. One was female, the other male. Both looked pretty similar, having the same height and feather pattern. But the female's eyes were olive drab, with sea blue highlights, while the male's were completely sea-blue. And the female was a bit more muscular.

"State your name, occupation, and who you work for," the female ordered.

"All of that's classified," Skipper replied. "But do you work for the IPM by any chance?"

"Depends. Do you?" the male answered.

"Okay, fine. I do,"

"Good!" the female said. She and the male broke their position. Skipper followed suit.

"I'm Captain K. and this is my lieutenant, J." she said, shaking Skipper's flipper.

"I'm Captain Skipper. Does K and J stand for something or do you two obsess over Men in Black?

"It stands for our real names, but we're authorized by the IPM to only use our first initials," J. replied. "So what brings you here to Mystic Aquarium?"

"My lieutenant turned his back on me and the team, almost got our Private killed, and he sent me here,"

"Dang. Well, hate to break to to you, but the security here makes it impossible to get out of here," K. said.

"Not even zoo transfers?"

"They only do those if the animal is behaving badly, like biting the guests or not getting along with the other penguins,"

"That's all I need to know. Co-captain, lieutenant: commence Operation: Bad Bird"

**AN: Hello everyone! So for it being a little short and maybe a smidge cheesy? But meh... Anyways, I apparently decided to put me and my best friend into these stories, though his name doesn't start with a J, but yeah... **

**So thank you for reading and reviewing! :D Stay awesome!**


	7. Hidden

Kody held pointed a gun to Kowalski's head. "You don't have a choice,"

Kowalski used his elbow to hit Kody, making the suprised otter drop his weapon. Kowalski kicked him down onto the hard concrete, jumping on his furry belly a few times. Kody tried to get up to fight back, but Kowalski furiously kicked his skull hard, making the otter fall out of conciousness.

Kowalski knew it wouldn't be long before he would awake. He had to get Rico. They had to stop him for good. He knew Rico would be about as mad as Skipper but he had to understand that Kody was probably going to end up killing everyone in the zoo except Marlene. He waddled out of the warehouse, hopeful that all of this caos would soon end. But then, he heard a gunshot behind him.

Kody slowly opened his eyes. His head was ponding and his body felt heavy due to aching bruises all over him. Something caught his eye. The penguin. He had just beaten him unconcious and sent to him to a world of pain and now he was waddling out of the place, getting away with it. Kody picked up the gun next to him and aimed it at Kowalski.

Kowalski immediately jumped to his left. Skipper had trained his instincts enough to save his life. But not his right flipper. Kowalski screamed in pain as the bullet ripped trough his flipper flesh. He turned around to see Kody, awake and reloading his pistol. Despite the burning pain, Kowalski sprinted out of the buliding heading towards the HQ. He looked behind him and spotted Kody yards away walking out of the building and looking at Kowalski's trail of blood, following the path. Kowalski groaned. He sprinted faster, being at his home just a few seconds later. He dropped down into the fish bowl entrance. Rico stared at him, confused.

"Rico! We have to hide, NOW! I'll explain later, but we need to-"

Rico interupted Kowalski by picking him up, pressing his flipper against his to try to stop the bleeding at least a little. He opened the plaque that held Private's stuffed fish, carrying Kowalski into the secret panel. Thankfully, Kody knew nothing about what was behind the plaque, so for now they were safe. Once inside, Rico coughed up a flashight and a box of medical supplies.

"Thank you," Kowalski whispered, just loud enough for Rico and Rico only to hear.

Rico took a pair of tweezers, a needle, thread, disinfectants, and a few rolls of sterile bandages out of the box. He grabbed Kowalski's right flipper and immediately began to work on it. Kowalski had to keep his beak shut with his good wing to prevent him from screaming. Thankfully, Rico didn't take too long. Within a half hour, Kowalski's flipper was bullet-free, stitched up, and bandaged.

They decided to stay there for the night, just to be safe. Kowalski was glad that it was Rico he was stuck with. Rico had just about everything they needed. Pillows, blankets, fish, weapons, generator, etc. Even a flat screen TV and a few head sets, which they used to keep themselves entertained. Nethier of them said a word to each other, fearing that their cover will be blown and all would be lost. Rico didn't know why they were hiding,who they were hiding from, or where Skipper was at. But he trusted Kowalski enough to know that what ever caused them to hide for the night might take away their lives.

"Okay, let's do this!" Skippper said, watching as a few people came up to the penguin exhibit. He saw one of the other, more boring penguins sitting on the egde of the island that was surrounded by water. He immediately pushed her in. But instead of what he hopped, the crowd burst out laughing.

"That's definately going on youtube!" a guy holding a camera said to his wife.

"Dang it!" Skipper mumbled. He went over to another penguin and started yanking his feathers out with his beak, making the stranger penguin squeal. This time, the crowd gasped. Skipper smiled, proud of his accomplishment.

"What is that penguin doing?!" one of the crowd members asked the zookeeper, who was standing guard by the aquarium.

"Oh, he's just preening his friend. Penguins within a colony usually preen, or groom each other quite often, "

"Ooh. Well, isn't that adorable?"

Skipper angrily spit out the feathers in his mouth. _Stupid humans!_ he thought. He came up with another idea and jumped into the water. He surfaced when he saw a teenage girl who looked upset enough to scream at anyone or anything that got in her way. She rested her arms up on the edge of the small wall surounding the pool. Skipper swam up to her.

"Hey, big guy," she said to him. Her mood seemed to change immediatey as she saw the penguins. Skipper swam a few circles near her, trying to gain her trust for a second. Then, he swam to the other end of the pool, trying to gain speed. Next, he splashed the girl, causing her clothes and hair to get soaked. But instead of being angry, she just laughed.

"You're a pretty awesome penguin. But, you knew that already, didn't you?" She reached in and ruffled Skipper's feathers, but as she pulled her hand away, Skipper bit her hand. But she didn't seem to notice nor mind. As if the pain didn't even exist. She just chuckled.

"Your lucky, you know? You don't have grandparents who judge your every move and force you to be someone you're not and follow you EVERYWHERE and don't let you have five freakin' minutes of any privacy,"

True,

Skipper thought._ But you weren't forced to come here where it is impossible to leave, and you aren't far away from your family and friends, and I'm pretty sure you don't have a friend who is currently in the hospital dying. _

"Ann?" a voice called behind the crowd.

"Crap..." the girl (Ann) mumbled. She walked away from the pool, her bad mood instanty returning.

Skipper sighed as K. and J. walked up to him. "I'm not getting out of here, am I?" he asked.

"Don't worry! We'll help you find a way out!" K. promised. "Even if it means getting us transferred to Hoboken,"

**AN: Well, sorry for the wait. School was crazy last week, due to all the tests we had and the pile of workI had to finish xD. But, that's school for you. Anyways, MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY LATE HANUKKAH! And since it's the day after Christmas, here's a few spoilers:**

**SPOILERS:**

**-The last chapter is VERY bittersweet (happy and sad at the same time)**

**-Skipper will eventually go home. **

**-Someone dies.**

**Well, those are the spoilers. They don't give away too much of the story, but they are spoilers. I also have one more thing. For the last chapter, I would like you guys to tell me your favorite Skipper quote or quotes in the reviews. No limit on quotes. I will try to put every single one in the chapter. It will make sense later. Trust me.**

**THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING/READING! :D**


	8. A Start

**I'm not dead! I know what I said a month ago, but alot of things came up. One of those things did, however, inspire me to write The Empty Bunk. Speaking of which, I found an idea for a bonus chapter on that story. So for the 90% of reviewers who wanted me to do another chapter get another chapter. **

**AND THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! :D**

The next morning, Rico coughed up a smoke bomb and quickly tossed it out the door and closed the door before they would be knocked out. After waiting 10 minutes for the gas to clear up, Rico cautiously opened the door, armed with weapons and looked around the HQ, making sure whoever they were hiding from was gone and walked over to the control panel, typed in the password, and locked all entrances into their home, as well as setting up their installed traps, to make sure that no one would get in.

"All clear!" Rico said. Kowalski slowly came out of the hatch. "I-it's safe?" he asked.

"Uh-huh!" Rico answered.

"Okay. Thank you, Rico" Kowalski lied down in his bunk, still tired and in pain from last night.

"What happend?" Rico asked. Kowalski let out a sigh. He knew this wasn't going to end well.

"It's a really long story, but I guess we have the time? But PLEASE don't say anything until I'm finished. Awhile ago, I was in the park, jealous that Skipper got to be in love, but I 'wasn't allowed'. Julien came up to me, noticing I was jealous, and took me to Kody, who actually is evil. He told me a plan to get rid of Skipper. Not to kill him, but to send him to another zoo. I agreed... But after having some regrets, I planned to go get Skipper back after Kody sent him away. But Kody decided to kill him at the wedding instead, after knowing Private heard his plan. And at the wedding, well, you know what happened. I saw Kody back at the zoo, and got scared that he would kill Skipper. So, I shoved Skipper in a crate and sent him away, knowing he would be safe at the other zoo. Kody saw me, and once he explained everything to me, he said that he was going to get Marlene to fall in love with him. I tried to stop him, and then he shot my flipper. I fled, knowing he would kill me,"

Kowalski stared at Rico, excpecting a harsh reaction. The penguin who usually shows every single bit of emotion for once had a blank, empty expression. Kowalski wasn't sure this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Rico?" he asked cautiously. Rico snapped out of the trance. His eyes narrowed into a glare. He pulled Kowalski to the concrete table and pinned his wounded flipper to it.

"What are you doing?" Kowalski asked. Rico slammed his flipper hard on top of Kowalski's, right were his bullet wound was.

"Bad Kowalski!" Rico mumbled as Kowalski screamed in pain and stumbled to the floor. After a few miutes, the worst of the pain was gone and Rico no longer looked angry. He helped Kowalski up.

"We're cool, now" He said, handing Kowalski a few pills for the pain.

"W-we are?" Kowalski asked as he swallowed the pills. "I thought you would want to kill me as well,"

"Nah. You're my friend,"

"It's just... I deserve to be killed. I could've killed Private!"

"Nu-uh! Not you! Kody"

"But I-I could've said something. I could've stopped this whole mess before-"

"Shush," Rico interrupted, putting his flipper over Kowalski's beak.

"Why?" Kowalski asked, managing to release his beak from Rico's grasp.

"Need a plan"

"For what?"

"To get Skipper"

"Skipper? But if we bring him back, then Kody will-"

"We need him,"

Kowalski nodded, knowing Rico was right. With Private and the hospital, Skipper being gone, and Kowalski's hurt flipper, they weren't that strong of a team. Even with Private, they had failed several missions. They needed Skipper.

Skipper let out a sigh as stared at the cool, sparkling water that surrounded him. It had been 3 days since he had pretended to misbehave so he could get home. K and J had helped him come up with other plans to get him home, each one failing. Apparently the people thought punching other penguins was a way to mate. They were wrong. VERY wrong. The failures and the constant reminder that he would never get home caused him to stop eating. K and J decided to leave him alone. They didn't know how to handle the penguin's depression. And they were fresh out of ideas as well.

The salty smell of herring lingered into Skipper's nostrils. He heard the zoo keeper enter the exhibit and the other penguins rush towards him, eager for their meal. He ignored what was going on and just kept staring at his reflection.

"Are you coming, Skipper?" K asked. Skipper shook his head. K sighed and mumbled an "Okay," before reluctantly joining the crowd of penguins.

After feeding the penguins, the zoo keeper noticed that once again, a certain penguin had skipped dinner. He spotted him by the water, looking sad. The zoo keeper had no idea what was wrong. A few days ago, he was lively and active as the others. The past few days, however, he had acted the same. Skipping meals, not interacting with the other penguins, etc. The only time he had ever even seen him move was when he took a short swim each morning. He walked over the Skipper and shoved a fish in front of his face.

"Come on, big guy. You have to eat," he said.

Skipper did nothing.

The zoo keeper sighed and forced Skipper's beak open and shoved a fish inside. Skipper spat it out. Realizing that the bird probably was sick, he picked up Skipper and put him in a small, blanket-lined cage, which was kept at every habitat in case on an emergency.

"We need to get you to a doctor," the man told the bird. Skipper gulped, knowing that needles most likely would be involved.

**A/N: By the way, Skipper's part of the story is set a little further into the future than Kowalski's part. But next chapter, Kowalski's part will catch up, mainly because K & R spent a few days planning and thoses days won't be included.**


End file.
